Author Archives: Liz Barron

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About Liz Barron

Returned US Peace Corps Volunteer (Armenia 17-19). Permanent address in Washington DC. Deep roots in Northern Ireland and persistent Belfast accent. Blogger, cook, painter, mother, grandma, Scrabble-player and enthusiastic world traveller.

Finding our true American voices

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Liz Barron

I lie in bed reading poems, trying to pick just the right one for a class at our Creative English camp. From the phone beside me miserable news streams from the United States. I come across Walt Whitman’s ” I … Continue reading →

Posted in America, America singing, Armenia, BBC, BBC World Service, Borders, Emigration, Peace Corps, Peace Corps Armenia, Poetry, Walt Whitman | 2 Comments

Death by Apricots

Posted on June 17, 2018 by Liz Barron

I bought them in the Ararat supermarket. The packets of what I thought were almonds were displayed beside the boxed dates. Bianca and I had new potatoes, asparagus and salad for dinner, eased down by butter, lemon juice and half … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia | Leave a comment

It’s the little things

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Liz Barron

In a week filled with sweeping landscapes, big names and history lessons spanning 6 millennia, it is the tiny details that stay special. At Karahunj, Armenia’s stone henge I mooched among the wildflowers and was blanketed by the birdsong that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Armenia, armenia’s revolution, Borders, dwarf iris Armenia, entrepreneurship, Food, Goris, Great weekends, Karahunj, Lake Sevan, Mount Ararat, russian soldiers Armenia, Syunik Marz, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life, wild flowers Armenia | Leave a comment

Armenia: it never gets old.

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Liz Barron

I saw a jackal last week. He or she also saw me and didn’t stick around. I glimpsed a woodpecker-the first I have seen here or anywhere else in the world. I picked some wildflowers that are new to me.– … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Blessings, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, Food, friendship, Games, gratitude, Great weekends, Happiness, joy, Language learning, life lessons, Nature, Peace Corps, Peace Corps Armenia, singing, Syunik Marz, Teaching, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life, work, Youth | 4 Comments

So now I know the Government!

Posted on May 13, 2018 by Liz Barron

 https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/blog_post/armenias-velvet-revolution-new-colors-vibes-countrys-politics-society/ Lilit Makunts was one of the battalion of teachers who helped me learn to speak Armenian when I became a volunteer with Peace Corps Armenia a year ago. Today she is Armenia’s new Minister of Culture. We remain Facebook … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, armenia’s revolution, Cross-cultural understanding, friendship, History, Language learning, leadership development, Lilit Makunts, Minds of the Movement, Nikol Pashinyan, Peace Corps Armenia, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, velvet revolution, Women, work, Yerevan, young women | 1 Comment

Well Groomed of Goris

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Liz Barron

Let us consider the battle against body hair which is big business here, particularly now Spring is upon us. In the land of Kardashian complexions, the beauty salons practice not only epilation but eradication, hacking back unwelcome growth wherever it … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Armenia, Beauty, Blessings, Chillin', Cross-cultural understanding, Goris, Language learning, My Lady Salon, Peace Corps, Social niceties, Stress management, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel | Leave a comment

Stories out of school

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Liz Barron

I was to teach a class about networking– how to make the kind of friends that help you get by. Ironic really that this session was scheduled for the evening Serzh Sargysan lost his job: the very day that thousands … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Capitalism, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, entrepreneurship, gratitude, Language learning, leadership development, Leadership School Yerevan, Learning, life lessons, National pride, networking, serzh sargsyan, story-telling, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, velvet revolution, work, Yerevan | Leave a comment

Drink lots of water

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Liz Barron

Haykush has made me jump twice this morning. I hadn’t expected to see her in my hallway when I got up at 7am to go to the loo. She was rootling to find chicken feed I think. Later I came … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, armenia’s revolution, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, family, Food, friendship, Jingalov hats, Local delicacies, Scares, Social niceties, Stress management, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life | 1 Comment

I Don’t Know How They Did It: a Clean Sweep in Armenia

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Liz Barron

I don’t know how they did it. They dispatched their former President (see this report from the UK’s Channel 4 here) and partied in Yerevan until late on Monday night. Safe in my hotel room I heard the noise of … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia | 1 Comment

Why Debate skills matter

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Liz Barron

Originally posted on Sierra's Peace Corps Armenia Blog:
Gayane in a debate Today I (finally) closed out my Let Girls Learn grant, which was used to start a debate team at my school. I wanted to share some of…

Posted in Armenia, public speaking | Leave a comment